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Sunday, January 03, 2010

On the 9th Day, SANTONS

For today's Sacred Sunday shot, on this 9th day of Christmas, instead of bringing you 9 ladies dancing, we take you inside the home of one of Greensboro's many Francophiles and share her creche from Provençe. Our friend amassed this grand collection piece by piece during her many decades of traveling from Greensboro to France.

Santons are terra cotta figures depicting the nativity. The first representation of the nativity, albeit life sized, was by St. Francis of Assissi in 1223. However, the French Revolution, with its closing of churches and prohibiting of nativity scenes, popularized miniature nativity scenes made from terra cotta figures. The making of santons has been popular in Provençe since the late 1700's and is a family craft handed down through the generations. The figures represent actual villagers-- shepherds, millers, woodcutters, fish mongers, a blind man, the wise men-- all marveling at the birth of Christ, whose figure is depicted with wax.

Every Christmas, our friend in Sunset Hills brings her figurines down from the attic and intricately places them one by one recreating not only the nativity scene but also her memories of trips to France and her selecting the 2" figures, all crafted by santonnier, Marcel Carbonel. As we pen this post, Madame M's voice resounds, "Bonsoir Joseph, Marie, enfant Jésus, fermier.......Ça va, rabassier?......... et les Rois Mages........comment allez-vous ce soir?"

Only after she makes sure that all 50+ figures are in place can she step outside and enjoy the hundreds and hundreds of Christmas light balls hurled into the canopy of mature trees lining her street.

I think this is beautiful. One word of caution,the figurines should be stored in a controled enviroment to preserve the glazes, especially terra cotta which is porous and could be damaged by extreme heat or cold. Thanks for sharing.

How moved I am by your featuring my treasured santons in your Sunday posting. I have been collecting them since Christmas of 1964 when I traveled in Provence and attended the Foire aux Santons in Marseilles. They are my favorite Christmas tradition.

Thanks for mentioning my laundromat comment. I actually found a very nice one in the next town over (about 10 minutes away) that's attached to a mini-mart, which means there is someone in attendance, you can get change, you can get snacks, you can buy laundry stuff, and the clientele was nice. Even the washers and dryers were new and efficient. Maybe it will end up on my blog someday. I'll have to refer to your post :)

How lovely that a Francophile friend brings out her santons each Christmas. I love that people keep up traditions and in this case, of course, it reminds her, as you say, of her visits to France. A lovely post. Thanks for leaving a message on mine and alerting me to these lovely santons.

Having seen this very creche many times, I am delighted to see your feature. My favoite Santon tradition is that of having a lamb for each child in the family. The lambs (Children) vie for the best position, the one closest to the Infant. The children's sheep are moved each day to reflect each child's behavior.
I imagine that by Christmas morning all transgressions are forgive and the aby Jesus is snuggled in, well protected by lambs.
Vive la France! et les franchophiles!